Legislators are considering whether to introduce a proposal to bring Colorado in line with most other states by requiring fingerprint-based criminal background checks for doctors, nurses and other health-care professionals.Supporters pushing a proposal to bring Colorado in line with most other states by requiring fingerprint-based criminal background checks for doctors, nurses and other health-care professionals say such checks are a key component of ensuring public safety.

“For decades Colorado has been one of only a few states that does not authorize basic fingerprint background checks for health-care professionals before they’re licensed,” said Joe Neguse, executive director of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies. “We’re one of six states that doesn’t do so for doctors, and one of only five states that doesn’t do so for nurses. We strongly believe it’s long past time for Colorado to join the other states in requiring this basic consumer protection safeguard.”

Neguse appeared at a press conference at the state Capitol with State Rep. Janet Buckner, D-Aurora, who is sponsoring the department’s proposed legislation.

“The bill will help identify bad actors who are skirting the law and provide regulators with a key tool to pursue their consumer protection mission,” said Neguse, head of the state agency that regulates health-care professionals.

In addition to impacting those seeking a new health-care license, the new system also would send automatic alerts to state health-care licensing boards whenever a licensee is arrested. Those boards would have the power to revoke an existing license based on those alerts if a transgression is identified that’s a revocable offense, such as rapes or violent felonies.

“When I was campaigning and knocking on doors, one of the issues that came up was the issue of patient safety and public safety, especially from those who have caregivers in their homes,” Buckner said. “To me, it’s just common sense.”

A fiscal note on the proposed legislation has not been done yet, but Neguse said the costs would be borne by those applying for licenses. If passed into law, the proposal would automatically apply to those who are applying for a new license to practice in the state. It likely would take two to three years to have all of those currently holding a license to come under the fingerprint check system, he said.

The legislation would affect doctors, nurses, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and veterinarians. Neguse said as many as 160,000 professionals would be affected.

Currently, Colorado primarily identifies disqualifying criminal convictions through complaints submitted to discipline boards or by self disclosure from those seeking a license and those who already are licensed.

The expanded background check program would be part of initial licensure, licensure by renewal, endorsement, reinstatement of license and when a licensee is the subject of an investigation by a state licensing board.

One key group, the Colorado Hospital Association, is taking a wait-and-see approach to the legislation.

“Patient safety and quality care are the top priority for Colorado’s hospitals, and the Colorado Hospital Association is committed to working with members to advance the quality of care,” said Katherine Mulready, the association’s vice president of legislative policy and chief strategy officer, in a prepared statement. “Since the legislation has not been officially introduced, the association does not have a formal position at this time.”

Mulready added that the association is continuing to work with the bill’s proponents, including the Department of Regulatory Agencies, “to balance public safety interests with employer/employee needs in strengthening our state’s background check processes for health care professionals.”

“If you have nurses coming into your home and living with you 24-7 you want to be sure their background is clean and that you can leave your loved ones in their hands,” Skolnik said. “This will be the highest criminal background check that can be conducted. It will give people peace of mind and comfort.”

Christopher N. Osher is a reporter on the investigation team at The Denver Post who has covered law enforcement, judicial and regulatory issues for the news organization. He also has reported from war zones in Africa.

More in Health

Using data from the Dartmouth Atlas – a source of information and analytics that organizes Medicare data by a variety of indicators linked to medical resource use – we recently ranked geographic areas based on markers of end-of-life care quality, including deaths in the hospital and number of physicians seen in the last year of life.